Cab cager



Nov. 12, 1929. a. w. MERRITT CAR CAGER Filed Aug. 5, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet .v 1 If l "1 ATTORNEY WITNESS Nov. 12, 1929. s. w. MERRITT CAR CAGER Fil'e Aug 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY 472/727 Warn?! I WITNESSWMM G. w. MERRITT Nov. 12, 1929.

CAR CAGER Filed Aug. 3, 1928 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 12, 1929 GLENN w. MERRITT, or

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BOWERSTON, OHIO, assrono'a TO MINING SAFETY nnvion COMPANY, or isownasrolv, onto CAR enema Application filed August 3, 1928. Serial No. 297,140.

cage, or otherwise, for moving the front stop to inoperative position and the horns to 0perative position whereby the first car can move upon the cage and the second car will be held against movement, the general objects of the invention being to so construct the parts that the bumper stop is placed near the cage, thus insuring rapid caging and permltting the use of buffer springs for the bumper stop of great strength, thereby increasing the cushioning effect and providing a construction of greater simplicity and one which can be easily and quickly installed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cross connect-ion between the caging mechanism of two tracks which is so constructed and arranged that when the front stop of one track is being moved to inoperat-ive position and the rear stops or horns are being moved to operative position, the front stop of the caging mechanism of the other track will be moved to operative position and the rear stops to inoperative position. This invention also consists in certain other fe ures of construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, to be hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and specifically pointed out in the appended claims. 7

In describing the invention in detail, reference will be had to the accompanying drawings corres onding parts throughout the several views, and in which Figure 1 is a plan view showing the invention in use on a pair of parallel tracks lead-' ing toa pair of shafts of a pair of cages, with the mechanism of one'track being operated by a cage.

stopin raised position and engaging the first car of a number of cars and the horns 1n lowered orinoperatlve position. V

s rein like characters denote like or *igure 2 is an elevation showing the fron V Figure 3 is a section online 3-3 ure 1.

Figure 4 is a section on line H of Figure 1. I

Figure 5 is a section on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a section on line 66 of Figure 1. 1 I

Figure 7 is a section on line 7-7 of Figure 1.

Figure Sis a perspective View showing a modification.

Figure 9 is a view showing a modified form of the member which 'is engaged by the projection on the cage.

In these drawings, A and B indicate a pair of tracks leading to the shafts G and D for the cages, one of which is shown at E, the tracks havin inclined portions adjacent the shafts so that the cars will pass from the of Figtrack upon the cages under the action of V gravity, in the usual manner.

A cross head 1 is movably supported between the rails of each track by having its ends connected with the rods 2 which are slidably supported in thebrackets 3, a pair of brackets being provided for each rod and each pair of brackets is suitably supported adjacent each rail of the track. A spring 4 is placed on each rod and bears against one of the brackets and against a nut 5 on the rod and these springs tend to hold the cross head against two of the brackets' A bumper frame 6 is pivotally connected with each cross head so that it can swing about a horizontal axis, said frame erg-tending forwardly and upwardly and being provided with a bumper stop 7 adjacent its forward end, The free end of the frame, under the bumper part,is formed with an elongated horizontal slot 8 through which passes a part of the crank 9 extending upwardly'from a horizontal'shaft 10jourv naled in brackets 11 depending from the rails of the track adjacent the shaft end thereof, said shaft 10 being formed with a depending arm 12 at its inner end, and a link 13 connects this arm with one arm of a bell crank 14 which is pivotally arranged on each shaft and has a dog'15 pivotally connected with its upper end, said dog having a lip 16 thereon Which will engage a part of the bell crank and hold the dog in substantially horizontal posi tion, as shown in Figure 5, so that said dog will lie in the path of a projection 17 on the cage, whereby the bell crank will be tilted by the projection 17 when the cage reaches a position where the rails E thereon are in alignment with the rails of the track. This tilting movement of the bell crank Will be communicated to the shaft 10 through the link 13 so that said shaft will be rocked and its crank 9 will tilt the bumper frame downwardly through its engagement with the walls of the slot 8 and thus the bumper stop 7 will be moved to inoperative position to permit a car on the front part of the track to pass upon the cage. As will be seen, when a car strikes the bumper stop, the bumper frame and the cross head, with the rods 2, will be shoved forwardly under the force of the impact, but

this movement will be resisted by the springs A on the rods so thatsaid springs act as means for gradually stopping the car after it strikes the V bumper stop and for absorbing shocks incident to the car striking the stop.

By i providing the elongated slot 8, this movement of the bumper frame can take place without interference from the shaft 10 and its associated parts and without moving such parts.

By pivoting the dog 15 to the bell crank, the dog can. be swung upwardly into inoperative position so that the mechanism will not be operated by the cage, thus enabling the cage to be hoisted and lowered without actuating the cager.

Figure 9 shows the dog 15 of forked construction so that the projection on the cage 7 will engage the prongs thereof during the movement of the cage.

A pair of horns 18 is arranged on each track for holding a second car while the first car is moving from the forward part of the track onto the cage, Each horn is fastened to a shaft 19 horizontally arranged adjacent each rail of the track, each shaft being rotatably supported by the brackets 20 wh1ch are suitably supported on the track and a spring 21 is placed on each shaft and bears against the horn and one of the brackets and these springs resist forward movement of the horns, due to the wheels of a car striking the same. Each horn is provided with a part for resting on a rail when the horn is in operative position and with a tail part to which a link 22 is connected, the two links extending inwardly and having their inner ends connected to a cross piece 23 fastened to a vertically arranged stub shaft 24 suitably journaled in the center of the track and having an arm 25 at its lower end which is connected by a link 26 with a depending arm 27 on the shaft 10, these parts beingso arranged that as the bumper frame is-moved downwardly by the rocking movement of the. shaft 10, underthe action of a cage strikingthe bell crank, the shaft 24 will be rocked so as to cause the links 22 to move the horns upwardly and inwardly over the rails so that said horns will be engaged by the wheels of the second car to hold said second car stationary as the first car is moving from the track on to the cage.

A rock shaft 28 is suitably supported between the two tracks and has a pair of arms 29 thereon, one arm being connected by a link 30 with the arm 12 of one of the shafts 10 and the other arm being connected by a link 31 with the arm 12 of the other shaft 10,

18 of said track so that the car held by the horns of track B canmove along the track B until it is stopped by the bumper stop of said track B. It will of course, be understood that while a car on track A is moving therefrom on to the cage in shaft C,'the horns 18 of said track A will be in raised position so as to prevent movement of thesecond car on track A. Thus a car on track A can move from the track on to the cage in shaft C, while the second car on track A is being held by the horns of said track and at the same time the bumper stop of track Bis raised and horns 18 of said track lowered so that the car which has been held by said horns can pass along the track until it strikes the bumper stop and thus the car will be ready for caging and when the cage in shaft D strikes the bell crank in said shaft D, the bumper stop will be lowered so that the car on track B can pass on to the cage in shaft D and the horns 18 will be raised to hold the next car. At the same time, the bumper stop of track A will be raised and the horns thereof lowered so that the second car on track A can pass along the same until it strikes the bumper stop of said track. Thus the caging mechanism of the two tracks'are alternately operated by the alternate movements of the cages in the shafts C and D.

Figure 8 shows a modification of the horn wherein the horns 18"are fastened to a rock shaft 18 which is formed with an arm 25 to which the link 26 is connected, this link being also connected with the arm 27 of the rock shaft 10. Thus these horns swing in a vertical plane which is parallel to the rails instead of at right angles to the rails, as shown in the first form of the invention. The horns may be placed at the inner sides of the rails or at the outer sides thereof or the rails can suring rapid caging and that the entire device has great simplicity, so that it can be manufactured to sell at low cost and the parts can be quickly and easily installed. By constructing and arranging the parts as shown, long cushioning springs can be used, thus increasing the cushioning action and the cross connections shown insure the bumper stop of one track being returned to normal or raised position, while the bumper stop of the other track is being moved to releasing position by the cage which is associated with its track.

'It is to be understood that the scope of this invention is not limited to the use'with cages in shafts, but it may be used in feeding cars to any type of dump, to scales, transfers, chain hauls, at top and foot of inclines or at any place where cars are caught and held in check and then moved forwardly along a stationary track. It is also to be understood that the operation may be by means of a movable member such as cage, dump, etc., or it may be manually operated.

It is also further to be understood that the cross head and bumper stop may be used with out the horns. It is also to be understood that the cross connection feature whereby the cager on track A is operated by the movement of a cage in shaft D and the cager on track Bis operated by the movement of a cage in shaft C, may be omitted and each cager operated only by the cage adjacent the track upon which the cager is located.

t is also to be understood that the scope of my invention is not limited to the uses heretofore stated, but includes any uses to which this machine may be put, whether or not mentioned in the claims.

What I claim is 1. A car feeder of the class described comprising a movable supporting member, spring means for resisting the movement of said member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with the supporting member and'having a bumper stop adjacent its free end andsaid free end having a slot therein, a rock shaft, a crank thereon engaging the slot and means for rocking the shaft to cause the crank to lower the bumper frame.

2. A car cager of the class described comprising a movable supporting member, spring means for resisting the movement of said member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with the supporting member and having a bumper stop adjacent its free end and said free end having a slot therein, a rock shaft, a crank thereon engaging the slot, means for rocking the shaft by a cage to cause, the crank to lower the bumper frame, a horn located a distance from the bumper stop and means for moving the horn into operative position by the rocking movement of the shaft.

3. In combination with a pair of tracks and a pair of cages, a supporting member assotal slot therein ciated with each track, spring means for resisting movement of the supporting member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member to move about a horizontal axis, a bumper stop on the frame adjacent v its free end, said free end having a horizona, a rock shaft associated with each track, a crank thereon engaging the slot in each bumper frame, means for rocking each shaft by the cage when the same reaches a position to receive a car from the track whereby the bumper frame will be lowered to release the car'held by its bumper stop and means whereby the lowering of one bumper frame will raise theother frame.

4:. In combination with a pair of tracks and a pair of cages, a supporting member associated with each track, spring means for resisting movement of the supporting mem ber, abumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member to move about a horizontal axis, a bumper stop on the frame adjacent its free end, said free end having a horizontal slot therein, a rock shaft associated with each track, a crank thereon engaging the slot in each bumper frame, means for rocking each shaft by the cage when the same reaches a position to receive a carfrom the track whereby the bumper frame will be lowered to release the car held by its bumper stop, means whereby the lowering of one bumper frame will raise the other frame, a pair of horns associated with each track and located a distance from the bumper frame of said track and means connnected with the 7 rock shaft of each track for moving the horns into operative position when the shaft is turned to lower its bumper frame and for moving the horns into inoperative osition when the shaft is moved to raise its frame.

5. In combination with a pair of tracks and a pair of cages, a supporting member associated with each track, spring means for resisting movement of the supporting member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member, to move about a horizontal axis, a bumper stop on the frame adjacent its free end, said free end having a horizontal slot therein, a rock shaft associated with each track, a crank thereon engaging the slotin each bumper frame, means for rocking each shaft by the cage when the same reaches a position to receive a car from the track whereby the bumper frame will be lowered to release the car held by its bumper stop, means whereby the lowering of one bumper frame will raise the other frame, a pair of horns associated. with each track and located a distance from the bumper frame of said track, means connected with the rock shaft of each track for moving the horns into operative position when the shaft is turned'tolower its bumper frame and for moving the horns into inoperative position umper when the shaft is moved to raise its bumper frame, and cushioning springs for the horns.

6. In combination with a pairof tracks and a pair of cages, one associated with each track for receiving cars from the tracks, a horizontally arranged supporting member between the rails of each track, spring means for resisting the forward movement of each supporting member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member to move about a horizontal axis, a bumper stop adjacent the free end of each frame, said free end having a horizontal slot therein, a rock sha t supported for rocking movement under each track adj aeent said frame ends, a crank on each shaft engaging the slot, an arm on the inner end of each shaft, a bell crank arranged to be struck by a part on each cage when the floor of the cage is in alignment with the track, a link connecting each bell crank with the arm on each shaft, a rock shaft arranged between the tracks, a pair of arms thereon extending in different directions, a link connecting one arm with an a n of one of the rock shafts, a link connecting the other arm with the arm of the other rock shaft whereby the downward movement of one of the bumper frames, due to a cage striking the bell crank which is connected with the rock shaft of said frame, will be communicated V to the other rock shaft to cause it to raise the other bumper frame, a pair of horns associated with each track and means for moving each pair of horns to operative position by the downward movement of the bumper frame of the track with which said pair of horns is associated, such means returning the horns to inoperative position on the upward movement of the bumper rame.

7. Acar feeder of the class described comprisinga movable supporting member, spring means for resisting the movement of said member,a bumper frame pivotally connected with the supporting member and having a bumper stop adjacent its free end and said free end having a slot therein, a rock shaft, a crank thereon engaging the slot, means for rocking the shaft to cause the crank to lower the bumoer frame, ahorn located a distance from the bumper stop and means for moving the horn into operative position by the rock ing movement of the shaft.

8. A car feeder of the class described com prising a movable supporting member, spring means for resistingthe movement of said member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with the supporting member and having a bumper stop acent its free end and said free end having a slot therein, a rock shaft, a'crank thereonengaging the slot, means for rock ng the shaft by a movable member to cause the crank to lower the bumper frame, a horn located a distance from the bumper stop and means for moving the horn into operative po sition by the rocking movement of the shaft.

9. A car feeder of the class described comprising a movable supporting member, yield able means for resisting movement of said member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with the supporting member and having a bumper stop adjacent its free end and means for lowering said frame.

10. A car feeder of the class described comprising a movable supporting member, yieldable means for resisting movement of said member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with supporting member and having a bumper stop adjacent its free end, means for lowering said frame, a horn located a distance from the bumper stop and means operated by the first means for moving the horn into operative position.

11. In combination with a pair of tracks, a supporting member associated with each track, spring means for resisting movement of each supporting member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member tomove about a horizontal axis, a bumper stop on the frame adjacent its free end, means for lowering the bumper frame and means whereby the lowering of one bumper frame will raise the other frame.

12. In combination with a pairof tracks, a supporting member associated with each track, spring means for resistingmovement of each supporting member, a bumper frame pivotally connected with each supporting member to move about a horizontal axis, a bun'iper stop on the frame adjacent its free end, means for lowering the bumper frame and means whereby the lowering of one bumper frame will raise the other frame, a horn located on each track a distance from each bumper stop and means for raising each horn when the bumper. frame of the same track is lowered.

In testimony whereof I my signature.

GLENN w. 'MERRITT. 

